Sensex closes flat; healthcare stocks plunge (Roundup)

A day after shedding around 300 points on negative global cues, a benchmark index of Indian equities markets closed Wednesday's trade flat -- down 25.18 points or 0.10 percent -- as healthcare, information technology (IT) and technology, entertainment and media (TECK) stocks fell.

However, healthy buying was observed in capital goods, bank and oil and gas companies scrip.

The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 26,229.67 points, closed trade at 26,246.79 points, down 25.18 points or 0.10 percent from the previous day's close at 26,271.97 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 26,338.31 points and a low of 26,150.09 points in the intra-trade.

The S&P BSE healthcare index was down 459.37 points, followed by IT index which was lower by 372.14 points and TECK index lost 168.74 points.

However, capital goods index was up 224.49 points, bank index gained 189.76 points and oil and gas index was higher by 177.65 points.

The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) also closed trade marginally in the red. It was down 9.70 points or 0.12 percent at 7,842.70 points.

The major Sensex gainers were: Tata Steel, up 3.52 percent at Rs.456.45; Larsen and Toubro (L&T), up 2.32 percent at Rs.1,447.45; ONGC, up 2.30 percent at Rs.406.25; NTPC, up 2.24 percent at Rs.143.75; and BHEL, up 2.10 percent at Rs.201.95.

The losers were: Infosys, down 4.70 percent at Rs.3,650.20; DrReddy, down 4.37 percent at Rs.2,963.65; Sun Pharma, down 4.31 percent at Rs.800.75; Wipro, down 4.03 percent at Rs.592.95; and Cipla, down 2.51 percent at Rs.585.30.

Among the Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 1.19 percent down, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.46 percent. Shanghai Composite Index, however, gained 0.80 percent.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 was trading 0.09 percent down. Germany's DAX Index, too, was lower by 0.37 percent, and the French CAC 40 Index slipped by 0.35 percent at the closing bell here.